Regency Centers CEO on potential AmREIT acquisition

Regency Centers CEO Hap Stein said he has always been impressed by the portfolio and management of AmREIT, which is why the company submitted an unsolicited bid last week to buy the Houston-based real estate firm.

“We look at a lot of opportunities out there and very few are consistent with the portfolio of AmREIT,” Stein said in an interview Monday.

Regency first approached AmREIT about an acquisition a couple months ago in hopes to come to an agreement without having to go public with an uninvited bid.

Stein believes his $22 per share offer is compelling to shareholders of both companies, but if AmREIT can demonstrated there is “additional value we are missing, we might pay more.”

“If they would provide us with additional information…that would determine if we would increase the offer,” he said.

Regency is based in Jacksonville, Fla. but owns 27 properties in Texas, 11 of which are in Houston.

Texas provides 10 percent of the company’s income, Stein said.

“This transaction would represent a significant increase and expansion of our platform in Texas,” he said.

One of AmREIT’s key properties, the Uptown Park shopping center at the West Loop and Post Oak Boulevard, represents an “exciting opportunity,” with a “tremendous amount of existing income,” Stein said.